Mastering the Mechanics

Let’s examine the “rules as written” regarding initiative: “Initiative determines the order of turns during combat. When combat starts, every participant makes a Dexterity check to determine their place in the initiative order. The GM makes one roll for an entire group of identical creatures, so each member of the group acts at the same …

Mastering the Mechanics: Roll for Initiative Read More »

It’s time to throw your whole spellbook out the window because chances are that everything you thought you knew about casting two spells on the same turn is wrong. Get ready to cast feather fall because we’re going to take a deep dive off the cliff of D&D rules minutia.

Bonus actions are easily one of the most confusing parts of a combat turn in 5th Edition. In fact, designer Mike Mearls dislikes bonus actions and has declared that they are “fairly hacky” and that he prefers to run games without them. So why do bonus actions exist, and how can we understand them? To …

Mastering the Mechanics: Bonus Actions Read More »

I recently played in an Adventurer’s League game (at D&D Live 2019) where the GM accidentally gave our war machine damage reduction 20 instead of a damage threshold of 20. This is an easy mistake to make, especially for those used to older editions, but it made a big difference in the longevity of our …

Mastering the Mechanics: Features that Decrease Damage Read More »